Chris Fleck knows a few things about organizing a pub crawl. He’s celebrated his birthday with one for the past five years.

“We had such a blast the first, we just started thinking of how to outdo last year,” he says.

Whether you’re throwing together a last-minute one for St. Patrick’s Day weekend or want to get a head start on Cinco de Mayo, hosting a pub crawl takes some planning.

Start by deciding if you want to order T-shirts for everyone, or pick a theme for the night.

Set a schedule, selecting which bars you want to hit and how long you’ll stay at each one. And it doesn’t hurt to put some thought into it, rather than picking at random. Mr. Fleck prefers to start his pub crawls at low-key bars, adding more action as the night goes on.

“I like to build up in the evening to where there’s more going on at each bar,” he says. “Try to end with DJs and bands in the evening, so it doesn’t fizzle out, it takes off.”

He also recommends reaching out beyond your normal bar scene.

“Some of the bars you wouldn’t think would be that much fun, depending on who your group is, end up being the best time,” he says. “So mix it up, go places you’ve never been before.”

And it’s always nice to call ahead and let the bars know your big, noisy group will be coming.

“We like them to call ahead and give us a rough estimate of when they’re going to be there,” says Hi-Ho bartender Ben Dean. “And maybe a head count is always nice.”

Once you’re there, try not to get too rowdy or obnoxious. Don’t “make too big a scene,” Mr. Dean says. “Have fun without negatively affecting everyone else’s good time.”

And, as always, don’t forget to tip your bartenders.

Transportation to and from the bars is one of the most important things to consider when planning your pub crawl. To stave off drunk driving, Mr. Fleck recommends ending at a different bar than where you began, so people aren’t tempted to hop in their cars and drive home afterward.

Mr. Fleck also rents a bus to cart around his pub crawl crew.

“It’s all about people not drinking and driving,” he says.

Linda Bishop, manager of Laidlaw Transit Inc., says the company transports about 100 pub crawls a year. Spring is one of the busiest times of year for the bus company, so plan ahead and secure a bus early on.

“They need to book as early as they know they’re going to (have a pub crawl),” she says.

Ms. Bishop also says passengers should keep in mind that while they can bring their own drinks on the buses, smoking is not allowed. Neither is fighting.

And have your bus money ready by the time you board the bus.

“We try to get paid while they’re all sober,” she laughs.

So you’ve got your schedule together, the T-shirts are ordered and the bus is reserved. Here’s one final tip from Mr. Fleck.

“Don’t make any plans the next day,” he says. “If you’re running errands at 9 the next morning, you did something wrong.”

Lifestyles reporter Lacey Storer

can be reached at lstorer@npgco.com.